Anthony B Brings Dancehall to the Dub Club

Review and Photos by Jan Salzman

March 30, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – It was a cool but comfortable evening, and the packed house at the Dub Club in LA eagerly awaited the performance of dancehall star Anthony B. The conscious DJ, born Keith Anthony Blair, hails from the parish of Trelawny on the north coast of Jamaica. An upcoming female vocalist by the name of Melanie Starr performed before Anthony B, and also provided backup vocals during his set.

With his trademark powerful voice, Anthony B began his set with the Peter Tosh classic “Equal Rights.” He started singing from off stage and then pounced onstage once the riddim dropped in.  Always bringing an energetic performance, Anthony B jumped and high-kicked throughout the set. He delivered about twenty songs from his vast repertoire of CD’s including “Tease Her” and “Damage” from his most recent CD Life Over Death.

My favorite, of course, was “Raid the Barn,” which he did a little tease of when he began the song and left the stage briefly, only until he was called back by the very enthusiastic crowd. He then launched straight into “Raid the Barn,” “Smoke Weed,” “Reggae Gone Pon Top,” “World of Reggae,” “God above Everything,” and closed with a cover of “Country Road.” Overall, it was a fantastic set, but I missed hearing two of his most famous songs, “Fire Pon Rome” and “Ganja Farmer.”

After the show, the sweet and gracious entertainer kissed my hand three times backstage when I gave him photos I had taken of him. Very satisfied and happy I headed home after an awesome show!